How to Find Out If Your Dog Is Allergic to Certain Foods

Just like humans, a dog can have allergies to foods. Sometimes, it can be one ingredient in food that’s made up of a mixture of other foods. But still that one item can cause your dog to become pretty miserable.

Allergies in dogs can start when they’re puppies, so it’s critical that you pay attention to how your puppy behaves after you’ve fed him. One of the most common signs of food allergies in puppies is dry or itchy skin.

He may start to scratch so much that he develops raw spots on his skin. If your puppy has a thick coat of fur and he’s itching, you’ll have to spread his fur backward to be able to see his skin.

Adult dogs can also have the itchy skin and rashes, but they’re also prone to getting ear infections when they’re allergic to the foods that they eat. You may notice an odor coming from their ear and there may also be swelling.

If the allergy persists or is severe, you’ll see a discharge coming from one or both ears. Senior dogs with food allergies can experience throwing up after eating as well as loose stools or diarrhea.

All dogs can experience a mix of any of the common symptoms associated with food allergies. Most puppy and adult dog foods contain items that can trigger these allergies. Look for things like fillers or dyes.

The Elimination Diet

One way that you can check to see if your dog is allergic to the food that he’s eating is to do an elimination diet. Look at the ingredients list on whatever food you’ve been feeding your pet.

Buy other foods that don’t contain that item. For instance, if there’s dairy in the food that you’ve been feeding him, then buy one that’s dairy free. If you give him the dairy free dog food and his allergies clear up, then you know you’ve found his allergy trigger.

Do the elimination diet with each food on whatever you’ve originally been giving him so that you can narrow it down to what’s causing his reaction. You’ll need to feed him the food without the suspected allergen for about five days to a week to see if there’s any change.

If you’re using regular dog food, then you can change brands and you can also look for food that’s organic. Organic dog food doesn’t contain the common allergy foods that regular dog food does, such as fillers.

If you feed your dog organic dog food and it still doesn’t help, then you may need to cook whole meats for him. If that doesn’t work, then you need to take your dog to the vet to have him tested for allergies.